@damkira

those numbers are really off. Didn't EA say that they sost sold 100 million copies of the sims franchise.

and according to Game Informer as of 2007 it was
mario-193
pokemon-155
FF-70
Maden-56
GTA-55

Oh, and I am not sure how you define a franchise, but if it's a "universe" (like anything Mario is a franchise), then I would have to say Star Wars is way up there.

X-Wing stuff, Knights of the old Republic, the RTS they had was good, Jedi Knight series... Lego Star Wars... they have had a lot of great games (and that's uncommon for a movie license)

 Edit. Forgot about Rough Squadron, and the Pod Racer games. 

mine would be

halo
GTA
legend of zelda
Final Fantasy
Metal Gear Solid

1. The Legend of Zelda.

2. Prince of Persia.

3. Diablo.

4. Mario.

5. Resident Evil.

1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Super Smash Brothers
3. Mario Kart
4. Super Mario platformers
5. Pokemon

Honorable mentions: Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, James Bond, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, and more.

Oh, and for sales list, I made this 2 months ago, it's a bit dated, but should be ok.

1. Mario - 302M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Mario&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

2. Pokemon - 152M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Pokemon&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

3. Grand Theft Auto - 61,5M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?
name=Grand+theft+auto&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

4. Final Fantasy - 57M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Final+Fantasy&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

5. The legend of Zelda - 55,8M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=The+legend+of+Zelda&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

6. The Sims - 55,5 M http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=The+sims&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

7. Gran Turismo - 46,9M http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Gran+turismo&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

8. Tetris - 46,5M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Tetris&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

9. Donkey Kong - 45M - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Donkey+Kong&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

10. Dragon quest 42,4 - http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=Dragon+Quest&console=&publisher=&sort=Total

That's all the ones I care to link. For the rest, you will have to search million sellers yourself.

11. Sonic 39,6M

12 Madden 36,5M

13. Wii Series: 31.3M

14, Crash Bandicoot 29,3M

15. Resident evil - 27,1M

( Wii series - 26,35M) (as of 13th January 2008)

16. Pro evo soccer - 25,6M

17. Tekken 24,4M

18. Kirby 22,9M

19. Fifa 22,5M

20. Tomb Raider - 21,8M

21. Halo 21,4M

22. Brain Training - 20,9M

23. Medal of Honour 17,4M

24. Spyro 17,4M

25. Nintendogs 16,7M.

26. Metal Gear 16,1M

27. Warcraft 16,1M


Zelda has been re-adjusted, so this number is wrong. Link: http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=14326

1.Legend of Zelda
2.Smash Bros
3.GTA
4.God of War
5.Mario

@Oyvoyvoyv

The Sims numbers are outdated.

The Sims 1 = 70 million sales (including expansions)

The Sims 2 = 100 million sales (including expansions)

Entire 'The Sims' franchise = 170 million sales

So it's the second best selling franchise of all-time.


--------------------------------------------------

My top 5 favorite franchises:

1º Fallout
2º Deus Ex
3º Broken Sword
4º Quake
5º World of Warcraft

1. Grand Theft Auto
2. Gran Turismo
3. Gears of War (i know but with 2 coming out and a pc version, i say it counts)
4. Halo
5. Pro Evo

1. Resident Evil
2. Guilty Gear
3. Advance Wars
4. Gunstar
5. Mario(main series)

1. SSB
2. Legend of Zelda
3. Final Fantasy
4. Mario
5. Street Fighter